Fueling My Dread
by Izanagi-Yes-Okami
Summary: Minato Arisato is a bitter person, and straight out unfriendly and cruel. He always preferred to be alone. But when one fateful day arrives where he must take up a role he never asked for, he must learn to trust in others and make friends. Persona 3 with a lot of twists! Works as a prequel to "Brand New Days".
1. The Beginning

**Hey guys, it's good ol' Izanagi here! Along with my other fic, Brand New Days, I'll be writing this novelization of Persona 3, too. I hope you enjoy my take on Minato's personality, and his interactions with the other characters. And drop a review! It helps boost confidence!**

* * *

_I will! Burn myyy dreaaaaad..._

The music blasted in his ears, completely taking the boy away from any and all interaction from others. He liked it this way. No one to bother him, nothing to annoy him. He was fine with being completely alone. In fact, he preferred it that way. So why was it that he was being sent to a dorm with other people? He didn't get it. Looking out the window of the train and into the streets of the city, he slowly drifted off into a daydream. By the time he had woken up, the train was just about to arrive.

'Good.' The boy thought. 'I won't have to be on this boring train anymore.' He got up and walked out the door. As soon as he walked out, the entire world turned grey, and blood was strewn all over the ground and walls of buildings. The boy chose to not care about this odd development at all.

_You've got blood all over. Ash all over. Spit it out son game's o-_ His music was cut off.

'Damn battery...' The blue haired boy cursed his MP3 player. He put his headphones in their usual spot, and walked towards the dorm he was to be staying at for the rest of the school year.

He found his way there with relatively no problems. He took a second to gather in all that he was seeing.

'This dorm is huge...' He pushed open the doors. He was greeted by a strange looking boy in prison garbs. He had glowing blue eyes.

"You're very late, you know. I've been waiting a long time for you." The boy said. "Now if you want to proceed..." He snapped is fingers and gestured towards a book. "Sign here. It's a contract. It states that you take full responsibility for your actions."

'Full responsibility for my actions? As if I didn't know that already...' The boy thought, signing his name. Minato Arisato, he signed. He looked at where the boy was standing, but saw no one.

'The hell?' He heard a gun being pointed at him.

"Who are you!?" A girl yelled. Minato slowly rose his arms up.

"Takeba, wait!" Another female said, walking up to the girl with the gun. He turned around to get a look at the girls. The girl who was holding the gun had long brown hair that was down a little past her shoulders. She was wearing a pink blouse with a black mini-skirt. Her brown eyes were fixated on his grey eyes. He looked to the other girl. A red haired woman stood there. Her hair went all the way down to her waist. She was wearing pretty much the same clothing as the brown haired girl, but with minor differences. She wore a white blouse with a longer black skirt. The brown haired girl lowered her gun.

"I'm sorry. You must be the new dorm member? I'm Mitsuru Kirijo, it's a pleasure to meet you." The red haired girl introduced herself. "This is Yukari Takeba. She is also staying at this dorm."

"Mitsuru-senpai, is it really okay for him to be staying here?" The girl named Yukari asked.

"I'm sure it's fine." Mitsuru said. "Yukari will show you to your room. You must be tired from the train ride here." It was then that Minato's MP3 magically turned back on.

'Guess the battery wasn't dead after all...' Minato thought.

"Come on, let's go." Yukari began to walk up the stairs. Minato dragged his feet, following behind her. Mitsuru was right. He was tired. The two had reached the second floor. Yukari walked all the way down the hallway to a room at the end of the hall.

"This is your room." Yukari announced. Minato walked to the door and put his hand on the knob.

"Hey... about earlier on? Did you notice anything... weird?" She asked.

"Other than you pointing a damned gun at me, no." Minato responded bitterly.

"Oh... I was just asking..." She walked back to the staircase and went upstairs. She was going to her room, obviously. He opened the door to his room only to be greeted by a simple bed, desk, and television set.

"Wonderful." He said aloud, walking to a closet. He got into some night clothes that Mitsuru had prepared for him. After changing, he looked around the room he was assigned to. He noticed more things than just the desk, bed, and TV. There was a mirror on the wall above his desk. Obviously for grooming himself. At the television screen, there sat a laptop. He picked it up and placed it at his desk. He liked it more there. He flopped down on his bed, and looked at the ceiling.

"I'm being watched..." He whispered to himself. He took a look around the room again, and found something that caught his eye. There was a very small camera in his room.

"Bastards." He swore. He took his chair and stood on it. He reached for the camera, and ripped it off effortlessly. He put the chair back and went straight to bed.


	2. The Magician

"Hello? Are you awake? It's me, Yukari! It's time to go to school!" Yukari called from outside Minato's door. The blue haired boy got up from his chair and opened the door. He pushed by Yukari and continued downstairs.

"Hey! Don't you need me to show you the way?" Yukari ran up to him.

'She's right.' Minato thought.

"Fine." He spat. Yukari walked past him and led the way to the train that would take them to their school.

* * *

The train ride was completely boring, as it was every train ride. Yukari decided to make some small talk with Minato.

"So..." She began. When Minato's eyes fell on her she continued. "Are you excited for your first day at school?"

"No. I hate school." Minato responded.

"Well maybe you should join a club! They're fun." Yukari said.

"I don't do clubs." Came Minatos' deadpan response.

"Well aren't you Mr. Sunshine? What's wrong with you, anyway!?" Yukari was starting to get fed up with his 'Don't Care' attitude.

"None of your business. Leave me alone." Minato snapped.

"I can't take it anymore!" Yukari yelled. "Ever since you've came here you've been acting like an insufferable asshole!" Minato rose his eyebrows and took his headphones off, interested in what the girl had to say. It's been a while since someone had the courage to stand up to him.

"Oh, _now_ you wanna listen to me?" Yukari was still mad.

"I'm all ears." Minato smirked.

"Look. I just want to know why you're being so harsh to everyone. It's not right, you know. Is that how you want to be treated?" Yukari scolded him. The train stopped before Minato could respond. Shame, too. He had a good comeback for that one.

Yukari led Minato into the school, and helped him find his homeroom. During the welcoming ceremony, Minato fell asleep. Yukari punched his shoulder to get him up afterwards.

"So... class 2-F, huh?" Minato whispered to himself, walking up the stairs to the second floor. He walked into class and found his seat. Just then, a tall boy with a baseball cap walked up to him.

"Hey, how's it going?" He asked, waving to Minato.

"What do you want?" Minato asked.

"Well, I know how tough it is being the new kid and all, so I decided to come say 'hey'! Aren't I a nice guy? By the way, my name's Junpei Iori." He introduced himself. Minato decided to humor him.

"My name is Minato Arisato." Minato said.

"Junpei, don't you ever think that you're bothering someone?" Yukari walked up to them both.

"Oh my god, we all have the same homeroom, don't we?" Junpei asked.

"Maybe it's fate..." Minato snickered, looking at Yukari's reaction. She had glared at him, but Minato couldn't help but think that it was... _cute_. That's a word that does not belong in his vocabulary.

"Anyway, Minato." Yukari turned towards him. "We have a very special guest visiting us at the dorm, today, so don't bother him."

"Wait, you two live together?" Junpei asked.

"Yeah, regretfully." Yukari and Minato both stared at eachother. Junpei could have sworn he could see lightning shoot between them.

"Well, it's about time I leave. See ya tomorrow, Yukari, Minato!" Junpei waved goodbye and walked out of the door.

"Shall we get going?" Minato asked, walking out the door. "Wouldn't want to keep this... _special_... guest waiting."

* * *

The train ride home was filled with blatant tension between the two teens. Yukari and Minato were both ready and fully capable of going at it right then and there. When Minato had gotten in the dorm, he noticed a man with long brown hair that came down to his waist. He was wearing a brown suit over a brown turtleneck. Minato shuddered at the sight of him, but he didn't know why. Something was telling him on the inside that this man was trouble, and had to be avoided at all costs.

"Hello! You must be the new student here at the dorm. My name is Shuji Ikutsuki. That's a real mouthful to say, so you can just call me Ikutsuki." The man introduced himself. He shook Minato's hand as Minato and Yukari sat down.

"I'm truly sorry about your the confusion behind your accommodations... however, it may take a while before you're properly assigned to a room. Is there anything you'd like to ask?"

"Yeah... who are you?" Minato asked Ikutsuki.

"I'm the Chairman of the Board of your school, and that's about it." He responded. "Any other questions?"

"No." Minato said. Ikutsuki looked to the clock, and noticed that it was about to get late. He exchanged a quick glance with Yukari.

"It's getting late. You must be tired from all the excitement, so why don't you head off and hit the hay? As you know, the early bird catches the _book_worm! ...Please forgive the pun." Ikutsuki chuckled. Minato did just that, and went to his room.

* * *

Minato awoke in an elevator, with a table in the middle of the room. There was a beautiful blonde woman with gleaming yellow eyes standing next to an old man, who smiled at Minato creepily.

"Welcome... to the Velvet Room." He said. "Do not worry, you are fast asleep in the real world. My name is Igor. I am delighted to make your acquaintance. This is Elizabeth. She's a resident here much like myself."

"Pleased to meet you..." Elizabeth said.

"This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. It's been years since we had a guest..." He flipped open a book. Inside was the contract that Minato had signed. "Only those who have signed a contract may enter this place. Henceforth, you shall be welcome here in the Velvet Room. You are destined to hone your unique ability, and you will require my help to do so. I only ask one thing in return... abide by the contract, and take full responsibility for your actions."

"Sure." Minato responded.

"Here, take this." Elizabeth handed him a key. It was blue, and had 'Minato Arisato' on it.

"I understand that you are... cruel... to your peers." Igor stated.

"Yeah...?" Minato asked, wondering where this creepy man was going with this.

"That kind of behavior will get you nowhere in the journey you will be taking part in. You must learn to be kind, as that is the only way for your Social Links to grow."

"What's a Social Link?" Minato asked. Who was this man to tell him what he can and can't do or say?

"It is a bond between you and another. A friendship, if you will." Elizabeth said. "These are key to your power. You must make many Social Links to brave the encounters that you will be facing in this journey."

"So how do I make them?" Minato asked.

"That will come in due time. Just remember, be nice to everyone, you may not know who might be a Social Link..." Came Igor's cryptic voice. "Til we meet again..."

* * *

Minato awoke in a cold sweat. Was that some kind of nightmare? Minato couldn't decide. But apparently, he had to start changing his attitude towards others.

"What a load of bullshit..." Minato thought aloud. He looked at the clock and saw that it was only one in the morning. He had better get back to sleep, or he'd fall asleep in class again. Not that it mattered to him, of course.


	3. The Master of Strings

Minato was woken up by a slap on the head by Yukari. He, once again, slept through class.

"Wake up, Minato." Yukari had a stern expression on her face.

"What is it, Yukari?" Minato asked sleepily.

"Class was over ten minutes ago. As punishment for making me stay behind to wait for you, you're going shopping with me. There's a few things I have to pick up before going home." Yukari scolded him.

"I hardly think you're in the position to punish me..." Minato grumbled, getting up. "But fine... I'll come."

* * *

"So what do you think, Minato? Looks good on me?" Yukari held up a pink shirt to her body. Minato decided to just agree with everything she said so they could get this done.

"Even though it's yet another pink shirt, yeah." Minato said.

"I know it's pink, Minato, but thanks." Yukari said. A voice rang in Minato's head at that.

**Thou art I... and I art Thou.**

**Thou hast established a new bond.**

**Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Lovers Arcana.**

'Schizophrenia?' Minato thought. 'Wait... this could be a social link!' Minato decided that he liked the power that was flowing within him. Maybe it payed off to be nice...

"It's getting awfully late. Let's get home, Minato." Yukari purchased the clothes that she bought and followed Minato to the train home.

* * *

"Good Afternoon, Arisato, Takeba." Mitsuru greeted the two as they came in.

"Hi, Mitsuru-senpai!" Yukari greeted. Minato just gave a wave. The two sat down next to each other.

"Arisato, how have you been on your studies?" Mitsuru asked, trying to start a conversation with the shut in boy.

"They've been well." Was Minato's short reply.

'Bullshit! You sleep all day!' Yukari glared at Minato.

'Well at least I got him talking...' Mitsuru thought.

"Tell me about school. How is it? Not too boring, I hope?"

'Is this an interrogation!?' Minato thought before responding with "It's pretty decent. There's a select few things that I could do without, sure, but it's good." He tried to be as friendly as possible, no matter how emotionally painful it was for him. Mitsuru smiled.

"That's all. Thanks for the talk."

**Thou art I... and I art Thou.**

**Thou hast established a new bond.**

**Thou shalt be blessed when making Personas of the Empress Arcana**

'Let me guess... I'm gonna social link left and right, aren't I?' Minato questioned. Well, whatever. As long as he can get through this without much trouble, he'd be fine.

* * *

"Mitsuru, you're not gonna believe this." A silver haired boy ran in the dorm quickly.

"What is it, Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked.

"There's a giant Shadow after me. I tried to drive it away but it just would not go! It got me in the ribs, too..." Akihiko grabbed his side as sat down on the couch.

"Then it's time to see if he really does have the potential. We couldn't monitor him, considering he destroyed all the cameras in his room." Mitsuru said. She called Yukari downstairs to inform her about the situation. She told her that she was to get a sword, give it to Minato, and get him out of the dorm.

"Right. I'm on my way." Yukari took the rapier behind the counter and rushed up to Minato's room. She knocked on the door loudly as the whole dorm shook. The Shadow was here, and it was trying to get into the dorm.

Back downstairs, Mitsuru and Akihiko were holding the door still, preventing the Shadow from getting in.

"I don't think we can hold out much longer, Mitsuru." Akihiko said, noting the fact that Mitsuru was getting pushed back into the lobby with every push the Shadow made at the door.

"What's going on!?" Minato yelled, opening the door. "This had better be important!"

"You need to come with me, now!" Yukari held up the sword that she had taken with her.

"Watch where you're pointing that thing!" Minato backed away from the sword.

"No, dumbass! Take it!" She forcefully put the sword in his hand. "Follow me!" She started to run towards the stairs. Minato was soon to follow after he felt another rumble.

"This isn't looking good, Akihiko." Mitsuru said. They prepared for one last push, but there was none. It stopped.

"Did the Dark Hour end?" Akihiko asked.

"No... I still feel it's presence. It's somewhere else now." Mitsuru's eyes widened. "Takeba!"

Yukari had tried every door that she could, but they were all locked. Their only option now was to go on the roof and escape from there. She ran all the way up the spiral staircase and came to a set of large doors.

"Are we done running?" Minato asked irritably. Yukari opened the doors and walked out and onto the roof.

"We... should be safe now." She announced. However, that was short lived, as a gigantic black hand reached over top of the roof. The owner of the hand pulled itself up onto the roof.

'Shit!' Yukari thought.

"Those things... we call them Shadows. They appear only during the Dark Hour, what we're in now." Yukari pulled out the gun she had pointed at Minato when he first came to the dorm. She held the gun to her head.

'She's gonna kill herself?' Minato thought. Before Yukari could pull the trigger, the monster that had appeared on the roof swung it's arm at her, knocking her and the gun away. The gun landed at Minato's feet.

_Go on. You know what to do._ The voice of the boy who wanted him to sign a contract said. He was right. Somehow, someway, Minato knew exactly what to do.

He picked the gun up.

He pointed it to his head.

"Per...so...na" He muttered before pulling the trigger. An immense wave of power filled his body as he felt something being ripped out of him.

**Thou art I... and I art thou.**

**From the sea of thy soul I cometh.**

**I am Orpheus. Master of Strings.**

A humanoid looking being with a harp attached to his back came out of Minato. Minato instantly noticed that it had HIS face on it.

'What the hell!?' Minato panicked. Suddenly, the thing that called itself Orpheus started to writhe in pain. A completely different, hellish being ripped itself out of Orpheus. It held a katana, was in all black, had a metallic skeleton face, and wore coffins chained to his back. The being rushed towards the shadow. It slashed rapidly, making chop suey out of it. The Shadow disappeared, along with the creature. Orpheus had reappeared in front of Minato.

"You've awakened..." Yukari muttered, still on the floor. The Shadow had injured her legs. Smaller versions of the Shadow that the other being killed appeared.

"Orpheus!" Minato shot himself with the gun again. The Persona shot waves of fire at the Shadows, wiping them out in one hit. Minato suddenly felt dizzy. He stumbled a little before falling to the floor.

"Minato!" Yukari shouted. Akihiko and Mitsuru came up the stairs to investigate all of the noise. When they saw Minato on the ground with a gun next to him, and Yukari not able to move her legs, they had assumed the worst. Mitsuru took out a gun much similar to Yukari's.

"Diarama!" Mitsuru shot herself in the head. Her Persona had healed Yukari. The brunette got up and walked over to Minato. She placed a finger to his neck.

"Still has a pulse, good." She announced. "We should get him to a hospital!"

"Right." Akihiko nodded.

"Did he... awaken?" Mitsuru asked.

"Yeah. But here's the thing. He can summon multiple Personas!" Yukari said.

"We'll have to inform the chairman about this, then." Mitsuru smiled softly.


	4. Social Link, Go!

**I'm really sorry that I haven't updated this fic in a while! I've been too focused on working on my other fic that I forgot about this one! I'm really sorry.**

* * *

Minato's eyes fluttered open. His eyes were greeted by a white ceiling. He took a quick look around and deduced that he was in a hospital. Wonderful. He absolutely loved hospitals... He noticed that Yukari was sitting on a chair next to the bed he was laying down on. She was looking away from Minato, so she didn't notice that he had awoken. It took the pink clad girl a few minutes to realize that Minato was watching her.

"Oh! You're up! I'm so glad... You had me worried." Yukari said. "I guess... I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?"

"Oh yeah. You do." Minato nodded his head slowly. He wanted answers. Just what was that thing that attacked them? What came out of his head?

"Well, lay back and get comfortable. This will be a while." Yukari said. "I'm sure you know already about the Shadows. I told you, that night. What you did that night was awaken to your Persona. It's our way to fight the Shadows. Normally people only have one, but you must be special. You awakened to two Personas that night." Yukari paused to make sure that Minato could digest what she was saying.

"Go on." Minato said.

"I'm a part of a 'school club' name SEES. It stands for Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. In this 'school club', we fight Shadows as they appear. They're the enemy of us. My Senpai will probably ask you to join tonight, so just come right home after school today, okay?" Yukari went on. The two sat in silence after she finished speaking.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you that night. I couldn't, even though I was the one who was supposed to, not you. I'm... sorta like you." Yukari said. "My dad died in an accident when I was little... and my mom and I aren't on exactly the greatest of terms. You're alone too, right? To be honest... I already know about your pas-" Minato got out of bed and slapped her across the face. She fell to the floor.

"Like hell you know ANYTHING about me!" He growled. Minato stormed out of the hospital.

'What was that about?' Yukari thought, rubbing her cheek. 'Maybe he's really sensitive about it... I shouldn't have said that.'

* * *

School had proceeded like normal. However, Junpei had been excited about something all day. When questioned, he'd only say that it was a surprise. Minato honestly wondered what he was talking about, but he let it go. He honestly didn't care. At the end of class, Yukari had walked up to his desk.

"Look, Minato..." Yukari began. "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't mean to bring anything up that would hurt you." Minato glared at her.

"After school, do you want to go somewhere before we head to the dorm?" Yukari asked. She wanted to make up for the hospital incident. Minato agreed. She had taken him to a flower shop.

"What do you think suits me the best?" She asked him. She held up a rose, a tulip, and some other pink flower that he didn't know the name of.

"That pink one. As I said, pink suits you well." Minato pointed to the pink flower.

"Thanks, Minato-kun." Minato couldn't believe his ears. Did she just say 'Minato-kun'? He thought she didn't like him! He shrugged it off and walked back to the dorm with Yukari, paying for the flowers.

* * *

"Hey Yukari, Minato, could you help me out here?" Akihiko called the two over to the door. "This guy's got plenty of packaging."

"Hey, it's Yuka-tan and Minato!" Junpei walked into the door, smiling. "Guess what? I'm staying in this dorm from now on! Akihiko-senpai found out that I have the 'potential', or something like that and told me that he would let me stay at the dorm."

"That's great, Junpei!" Yukari said with a forced smile. Minato could tell that she didn't like the guy too much.

"So, how'd be find out that you had the potential?" Minato asked.

"Well, he found me in a corner crying during the Dark Hour." Junpei said. When he heard Minato start to laugh, he rolled his eyes.

"Junpei is joining SEES as of today." Akihiko said. "That reminds me, we have to explain SEES to you, Minato. Follow me, you guys."

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Ikutsuki asked. "Good. Let's start the meeting. Minato and Junpei, you're going to be told what SEES really is. SEES stands for "Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad." It's a mouthful, I know. We're disguised as a club, but during the night, during the Dark Hour, we go and fight what we call Shadows. I'm sure you've gotten the explanation about them from Mitsuru or Akihiko. Shadows are here to hurt people, and it's our job to take care of them. They are also linked the the outbreak of something called "Apathy Syndrome". Apathy Syndrome is when you lose all meaning to live, and you go into a catatonic state."

"So, are you guys up for this?" Akihiko asked. "Do you wanna join?" Junpei immediately agreed. Minato seemed to be in deep thought, so Mitsuru turned to him.

"Arisato, do you want to join SEES or not? You do not have to, you know." She asked.

_I'd say do it._ A voice encouraged him in his head.

'What!? What was that!?' Minato panicked.

_I am your Persona. Orpheus. I encourage you to join SEES._ Orpheus said.

"I'll do it." Minato agreed.

"Great. Now that we have enough people, we can conduct and exploration of Tartarus." Akihiko said. "Get ready for the Dark Hour, guys. And get prepared."

"What's Tartarus?" Minato asked Yukari.

"We'll explain when we go tonight." She said. "For now, just rest up and get ready for it." Yukari left the room, and Minato felt a barrage of power fill him.

_Looks like you formed more Social Links, bud!_ Orpheus said. _It's Fool, which is for SEES, and also my Arcana. Magician, for Junpei, Star, which is for Akihiko, and... oh... Jester, for that Ikutsuki guy._

'Is Jester supposed to be bad?' Minato asked sensing the discomfort in Orpheus.

_I dunno. But it never warrants anything good. I'd keep an eye on that guy._ Orpheus said. _Maybe you should just go rest for now. _Minato happily complied. He was really tired.


	5. Tartarus

_Minato, it's time to go to Tartarus._ Orpheus reminded his other self.

"I don't want to get up..." Minato groaned. However, he decided that he probably should. Besides, it felt pretty good to summon Orpheus to Bash a Shadows' skull in.

_If that's all you're going to think about, then we're going to have a long time..._ Orpheus said.

* * *

They had all gathered outside their school.

"Why are we at the school?" Minato asked. "I thought this was going to be Tartarus? Waste of time..." Minato walked away, but was quickly stopped at the Dark Hour hit. Soon, their school rose from the ground. Minato gazed in awe at the sight.

"This is Tartarus. Every day during the Dark Hour our school transforms into this." Akihiko explained. "This is pretty much the hive of the Shadows. It's where they all gather."

"So we're going in to train you all for fighting the Shadows. Akihiko won't be accompanying you, however, so I don't know what he's so jumpy about." Mitsuru said. "As you all know, no electrical machines or appliances can work during the Dark Hour. This motorcycle, however, has been fixed so that it may still work. I will use this to gather supplies or for fast transportation. I will be your support. If you need anything, ask me."

"I know I'm not going in, Mitsuru..." Akihiko said in an undertone. The group walked in to the nightmarish tower. Minato had noticed a blue door walking in. No one seemed to notice it, however, and payed attention only to the staircase and the door at the top. He walked to the door and opened it. He was greeted to the same elevator that was known to him as the Velvet Room.

"I've been waiting for you." Igor smiled at him again. And once again, Minato became unnerved by it. "The time has come for you to use your power. The power of Persona. The tower that you are to venture into... how did it come to be? Why does it exist? Regrettably, you are currently unable to answer those questions. That is why you must be made aware of the nature of your power."

"The nature of my power? What are you talking about?" Minato asked.

"Your power is unique. It's like the number zero. Empty, but with limitless possibilities. You, my boy, are able to posses multiple Personas and use them accordingly. When you have defeated your enemies, you will see the endless possibilities before you. There may be times where they are difficult to grasp, but seize your prize either way. Your power will grow as you do. Be aware of that. My spare time will soon be scarce, but please come again on your own accord. I'll tell you then what my service to you is." Igor sent him out of the Velvet Room. He was standing in front of the blue door, but turned around to see Yukari and Junpei behind him.

"Uh... are you alright, dude? You've been staring at that wall for a while." Junpei asked. They couldn't see the door?

"You can't see that door?" Minato asked.

"Um... no." Yukari said. "Let's get going. Senpai's waiting for us." Minato had walked up the stairs and faced the giant golden door that he was to walk into and explore the inner depths of Tartarus. He turned to Junpei and Yukari.

"Are you guys ready?" He asked. "I'll be the leader of this. Objections?"

"Not really, no." Yukari said. "Let's get moving."

* * *

"Arisato, can you read me?" Mitsuru's voice filled the halls of Tartarus. She was communicating with the team from the first floor using her Persona's abilities.

"Loud and clear, Senpai." Minato responded. "What's our plan for today?"

"Reach the fifth floor." Mitsuru said. "Be wary of all of your surroundings, as you can never know where a Shadow may be lurking. Remember to keep a good eye on every thing. Every hall, every corner, every dead end. I will assist you in battle." Minato scanned the area, looking at the pillars, at the walls, and at the floor. No Shadows in sight. He motioned for Yukari and Junpei to follow him. He had found the stairs easily, but he didn't want to go up just yet. If this was a dungeon, then there was treasure, and where there was treasure, there was money.

"There's the stairs, Minato-kun." Yukari said.

"Yeah, but we're not going up just yet. There's some treasure around here, I'm sure of it." Minato said.

"If you say so." Yukari said. She noticed a Shadow creeping towards Minato at the end of the hall. She pointed her bow at it and pulled her arm back. She carefully calculated her aim, and then fired. The bow whizzed past Minato, taking a few strands of his blue hair in the process, and hit the Shadow right between the eyes. He turned back to Yukari with wide eyes.

"You have a pretty good aim, Yukari." He said.

"Awww! That's the first compliment I've ever heard from you!" She smiled sweetly. Minato shook his head jokingly and continued on.

* * *

When they got to the fifth floor, Minato had found a green device that, when touched, sent them back to the first floor. Mitsuru had congratulated him on a job well done and headed home with Akihiko. When Minato got into his room, he instantly collapsed.

_Sweet dreams, my other self._ Orpheus said.

Minato did not have sweet dreams at all.

* * *

_"Minato! Run away!" He heard a girls voice yell at him. Minato couldn't move, and he wouldn't. The monster in front of him made him afraid to even move. It looked much alike the Persona that had broken out of Orpheus the day that he had summoned his Persona for the first time.  
_

_"No! I don't care what you do, but find some way to kill it! I don't care if you have to seal it inside me!" He yelled. A bright flash of white, and the monster was gone. Now he was in the girl who yelled for him to run's arms. She was crying. And he was too. He looked up to see blonde locks of hair, and a white suit with a golden color at the arms. The girl was also wearing a bow on her neck. He also saw glowing blue eyes.  
_

_"I'll protect you from now on, Minato... Big Sis will always be there for you. Your big sister will never let you down. Remember that." He heard her say to him. He was then being pulled away, much to whoever 'Big Sis' was's dismay._

_"No! Don't take him from me! He's the only thing I have left!"_

* * *

Minato woke up to a warm sensation on his cheeks. He slowly rose his arm and put his hand on his cheek. He put his hand into view, and saw that it was tears.

_You'd been crying the entire night, Minato._ Orpheus said. _Is there something bothering you? You can always talk to me._

"...N-No... I'm... fine." Minato said aloud.

'Big Sister... I had another dream about her again...' Minato thought. He looked at the clock. It was a Sunday, so he had off. He dressed in some normal spring clothes and walked downstairs into the lounge of the dorm. Everyone was sitting down at the table eating breakfast.

"Minato, you look depressed. Is anything wrong?" Akihiko asked, pulling a chair out for him. Minato sat down in it and propped his head up with his arms. He had bags under his blood-shot eyes.

"...Bad... Dream..." Minato mumbled incoherently, but Akihiko got the gist of what he said. He got up and made him a bowl of cereal.

"Here, eat this. It might make you feel better."

"Thanks, Senpai." Minato said.

_Is that a little niceness I see showing out of you, Minato? I didn't think you had it in you!_

'Shut the hell up, Orpheus. No one asked you.' Minato snapped.


	6. Thanatos

School was tremendously boring for Minato Arisato. He already knew most of the information that the teacher was trying to teach, so he almost always wound up sleeping through class until Yukari would punch him in the arm and tell him to wake up or she would leave without him.

"Do you always have to punch my arm, Yukari?" He asked irritatedly.

"Sorry, it's just something that I'm used to." Yukari apologized. "Anyway, it's about time we went home for the day."

"Yeah, sure. Truth is, I wanted to go around town some more and broaden my surroundings." Minato said. "When's the train leave, anyway?"

"It's leaving in three hours, but I still like to get there early."

"I think that three hours is a little too early, Yukari." Minato responded. "But anyway, you go ahead and do your thing. I'll do mine."

_Why do you keep pushing people away from you like that? You have to let people in. You'll never get far with your Social Links if you don't and no Social Links means no power._ Orpheus scolded him.

'And that means?'

_Let me fill you in on a little secret..._ Orpheus said. _I'm your original Persona, so right now, I'm very weak. But... I evolve. I become stronger as you become stronger. Soon, you might just be wielding Death itself if you do the right things._

'It sounds interesting enough... Fine. I'll humor you, or myself, or whatever you want to be called.' Minato responded.

_Just remember, Minato... I'm a really good swordsman when I'm Death._ Orpheus said. Minato looked at his watch. He placed his earphones on and walked out of the school.

* * *

"Greetings, Arisato. Are you doing well?" Mitsuru welcomed Minato back home. Minato sat down on the couch of the dorm, taking his headphones off.

"I've been fine." Minato said.

"That's great." Mitsuru responded.

"Oh, you're home!" Yukari walked up to Minato along with Junpei and Akihiko.

"Where've you been?" Akihiko asked.

"I took a walk through Paulownia Mall to get to know the town better." Minato said. "Is dinner ready? I'm starving." He heard his stomach growl.

* * *

More dreams plagued Minato's mind. He was beginning to get sick of it, but he had to admit that he was scared out of his mind, and was downright afraid to sleep.

He had dreamt that the monster from the other dream, the one who attacked Big Sis, attacked him. He was alone in an alleyway, and it came running after him with it's sword drawn. A loud, sickening roar could be heard.

_"Big Sis! Where are you!? You said that you'd never let me down and that you always would protect me! You promised me!"_ His younger self screamed. The monster's blade shone in the dark yellow moonlight. It was the last thing he saw before it beheaded him.

Minato woke up in a cold sweat. He had had yet another dream about Big Sis and that monster that was always there in his dreams. It was always watching his every move. In his happier dreams, he chose to ignore it, but he just couldn't run and hide from the monster all his life.

_M-Minato... you're crying again._ Orpheus noted. _And... I want to warn you right now. If you proceed in getting stronger... I WILL look like the monster from your nightmares soon enough._

'No shit...?' Minato asked. 'I'll come to the decision when I come to it. Right now... let's just get stronger and improve these Social Links.'

_Do you want to stay up here until you've finished crying?_

'No. I'm going down.' Minato decided, walking downstairs, the tears still flowing from his eyes. Yukari was the one who noticed first. Followed by Akihiko, then Mitsuru, who in turn woke Junpei up.

"What's wrong, Minato-kun? Why are you crying?" Yukari asked, wiping the tears from his face, much to Minato's chagrin. He didn't like it when people touched him. But... he allowed it this time.

"B-Bad dream..." He stuttered.

"Tell us about it. We can help you, Minato." Mitsuru said, using his first name instead of his last. She led him to the couch where they all sat down, looking at him expectantly. Minato waited a few minutes before he began speaking.

"I've been having nightmares ever since I was at the orphanage. They were about the same monster. It would either attack me, or attack the people that I care for. But the day before yesterday... I had a dream that was more vivid than ever before. There was a blonde girl that I had kept on calling Big Sis. She was fighting the monster. Protecting me from it. I could never forget the day that I was dreaming about. No one believes me, and I don't expect you to either, but the monster from my nightmares arrived and killed my parents under a yellow moon. That was when the blonde haired girl came and saved me. She sealed the beast inside of me to prevent it from harming me or anyone else any further. Afterwards, I had lost her. I couldn't recognize their faces, or her's for that matter, but people took me away from her, and placed me in an orphanage." Minato explained. "That's why... I can't make any connections to people." Hell, if he was telling them his darkest secret, then he would go the full way and tell them why he's so cruel. "I push them away from me, hoping that I won't get attached to them. I'm afraid to become friends with people, so I push them away and act like an asshole. I'm afraid of loss." By the end of his explanation, he had left Yukari bawling her eyes out, Junpei wearing his cap down so that no one could see his tears, Akihiko looking at the floor, not knowing what to say, and Mitsuru silently shedding tears. It was the saddest thing they had ever heard.

"No one your age deserves that to happen to them." Mitsuru said. "Try to remember who they were, please. I will personally visit them, and give them severe punishment."

"I understand your fear of loss." Akihiko said. "I've been through it. So if there's anything you need to talk to me about, I'm all ears, Minato."

"I'm sorry that I can't relate to you, dude, but like Akihiko-senpai, I'm here if you need anything." Junpei added.

"I've lost my parents too, Minato-kun. If you need to talk, everyone here is all ears. We'll listen to what you have to say." Yukari said. A fresh set of tears came out of Minato's eyes.

'These people... would they really go as far as to try to comfort me? Why would they do that?' He asked himself.

_Because they're your friends. Do you feel that tightness in your chest? That's power flowing into you, and in turn, into me. If you continue to be kind like this, then you'll become stronger and stronger until you can protect the people that you love so that you may never have to part with them again. I, too, will change as well. Only when you make a revelation in your life, a major turning point, will I evolve. _Orpheus said.

'Then I guess... these people aren't so bad. I could... get used to life here. Maybe I should stop being such a jerk to people...' Minato thought to himself.

_And that, my other self, is a revelation in your life. I hope you're ready, because I don't think you're going to like what you see come out of you the next time._ Orpheus appeared in front of Minato with a confident smile on his face.

"Minato's Persona..." Junpei acknowledged it.

"What's happening to it?" Yukari asked as the Persona started to shapeshift. White enveloped it as it morphed. Minato stared at it. Orpheus said that he wouldn't like what he would become.

Orpheus was right.

Minato's eyes widened as the monster from his nightmares appeared, it's lifeless eyes gazing at him. The same iron chain coffin necklace, the same giant katana, the same metallic mouth.

**Thou art I... and I art thou...**

**From the sea of thine soul I cometh.**

**I have always walked by your side, guiding you in your journey.**

**I am Thanatos. Death itself.**

"It has always walked by his side? What does it mean?" Junpei asked.

"There it is... the monster from my nightmares... The Persona that broke out of Orpheus when I first summoned him. Thanatos." Minato said. Thanatos disappeared back into Minato.

The rest of SEES seemed to take it lightly, as they started talking about how they were all really hungry and that they should go out to eat. Minato smiled a, finally, genuine smile. He would get used to these people.

_I am sorry for the fright that I have given you._ He heard Orpheus, no, Thanatos say. _However, I did warn you about it. It is your choice if you want to continue or not. I am not forcing you._

'I'll fight on with all I have. I expect the same from you, Thanatos. If you're anything like you were in my nightmares, then I can tell we'll steam roll anything in our way.'

* * *

"Arisato." Mitsuru walked into Minato's classroom. Everyone but Junpei and Yukari gasped in awe. Mitsuru Kirijo was talking to Minato Arisato!? Minato could feel his charm go up.

"Yes, Mitsuru-senpai?" Minato asked, looking up from his desk.

"I'd like to invite you into Student Council. There's a meeting today, if you want to come." She said.

"Student Council, huh? Alright, fine. I'll come." Minato agreed and followed Mitsuru over to Student Council.


End file.
